In 2009, a group of men offered young Karim roughly 300 US dollars a month for what he thought was military training. After three months he was released and instructed to go home and wait. He returned to his normal life and didn’t hear anything for more than 8 years.

Have you heard the story of Emmanuel Jal? We shared his incredible testimony a few months ago with our blog readers. A man of many talents, Jal is a recording artist, actor, and activist. Most importantly though, as a former child soldier in South Sudan, he has dedicated his life to changing the world through peace.

Recently, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on a harrowing incident in the Windy City. A witness shared the following account:

“I had just dropped off a customer on 81st and Saginaw. She was about two houses from the corner. I let her out and started to leave. As I got to the corner of 82nd Street, there was a young boy in the street. He went in his waistband and pulled out this large pistol and he started shooting at this car. It was a blue vehicle and there was one person in it. The driver was about to turn onto Saginaw when the young boy started shooting. [The motorist] sped up and continued his turn and kept on going down the street. The young boy didn’t hit him and didn’t seem to hit anything. There was a group of one adult and six children of various ages on the sidewalk walking down Saginaw. None of them appeared to be hit. Then the boy, after he had finished firing, ran east on 82nd Street. He got to the next street and another young man met him and took the gun. The young man who met him ran off. The young boy got on a bicycle and rode away.”

Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi spoke in Geneva, Switzerland this week on his life-long pursuit: the eradication of child labor. His work to end child labor, primarily focused on the use of child soldiers, won him the Nobel Peace Prize in India. Mr. Satyarthi has dedicated his life to removing children from harm, both in India and around the world. We followed his story and were deeply inspired by his speech.